Sheet separating and feeding apparatus



April 6 192e.- 1,579,469 A S, -COOPER SHEET SEPARATING AND FEEDING APPARATUS Original Filed Nov. 18, 1922 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 1M- 6 H1llllllliilwglllllllll Hi I M1 9 K gvwentoz April 6 1 926.

1,579,469 s. COOPER SHEET SEPARATIN G AND FEEDING APPARATUS '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Nov. 18 1922 awuemtoz J/Mo/v COO/95K.

April 6 1926.

. .COOPER SHEET SEPARATING AND FEEDING APPARATUS 7 Sheetsheet 5,

Original Filed Nov. 18, 1922 .vweuto'c I 4$AKWVCZDOFZDT.

April 6 1926.

s.cooPER SHEET SEPARATING AND FEEDING APPARATUS Original Filed Nov. 18, 1922 iiwnwvcboFwyz,

7 Sheets-Sheet 4 April 6 1926. 1,579,469

S. COOPER SHEET SEPARATING AND FEEDING APPARATUS o 1 Filed Nov. 18, 1922 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Q avwemtoz M W J'mo/v COOPER.

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[panying drawings in which Fig. 1 is, a side i ther' details of the feeder actuating mechw Patented Apr. 6, 1926.

- UNITED STATES PATENT o F1cE.

smon cooraa, or nnooxmn, NEW roux; assro'non ro'r'nnuccm comm, Y or new YORK, n. Y., a ooaroaanon or new YORK.

SHEET SEPARATING AND FEEDING APPARATUS.

Original application filed November 18, 1922, Serial No. 601,858. Divided and thin application fled August 27, 1924. Serial No. 784,887.

This invention is directed to paper hand ling machinery and particularly to means' for separating sheets and feeding them one at a time to an operative point. The invention is a division of my co-pending application No. 601,858 filed November 18, 1922.

In my prior application I have disclosed a method and apparatus for separting the uppermost sheet from a plurality of piles of pattern pieces and feeding the several sheets to an operative point w ere they are simultaneously engaged with adevice which winds or folds them into a. long narrow ack and means for removin said suck from the winding mechanism and creasing the folds and subsequently winding the long pack in another direction so as to fold the same into a small compactpackage. The present application is directed particularly to the class of sheetse arating and feeding means disclosed in the ormer application and to means for transferring the sheets after they have been folded.

.The invention is illustrated in the accomelevation .of,-a machine embodying my -in-f vention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal' section of the machine on a plane behind the frame shown in Fiq'. 1; as lndicated by line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Figs. 4 and 5 are detailsof mechanism for actuating the feeder.

Figs. 6, 7, s; 9, 10,-1 1,12'afia 1 'nism, Figs. 11 and 12 being sections on the correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. -10;

and Fig. bein' a view illustratin adiffere'nt position 0 a art shown in I 14++14 of'Fig. 2,;

18- Fig.114 isfiavertica sectional view on line Fig. 16 is a detailsection on line-1616 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 17 is an enlarged detail showing a portion of the feeder carriage and a gripper carried thereby;

Fig. 18 is afront view of the parts shown 1 inFig. 17;

Fig. 19 is a section pn line '19-19- of Fi 17 with parts shown in full lines ina different position; I

Fig. 20 is a; detail of parts shown in Fig.

.17, the positions corresponding to those shown in Fig. 19;

Fi 21 is a horizontal section on line-21-- 21 0 Fig. 17, the gripper finger howeverbeing shown open in this view;

Fi 22 is a view similar to Fig.- 2l-showing t e gripper finger in closed position corresponding to Fig. 17';

Figs.v 23 and 24 are fragmentary views illustrating different positions taken bythe gripper fingers as they pucker and gri the topmost one of a ile of superposed s sets.

Sheet feeder. eferring first to. Figs. 1

and 2 of the drawings, the machine includes out-board frames'one of which is shown at 10 and an intermediate frame 14. To the frames 10 and 14 are secured four uprights.

16, 18, 20 and 22. These uprights support inclined tracks 24 and 26, 28 and 30 which serve as guides for the carriage C. The car rlage com rises side plates 32 and 34 which are p'rovi ed at their lower endswith roll ers 36 adapted to travel between the rails 24 and 26 and the rails 28 and 30. Extens'ions 38 and 40 are secured to the upper ends 41whici also run between said rails. The

plates 32 and 34 support a plurality of u 44 above referred to.

2 and 14 and they are of identical construclates 32 and 34 and carry rollers he n.

guide 48 supported on cross shafts 42 and i There are a multiplicity of these grippers as shown in Figs. 1, f6, lv

tion and a description of one will suflice for'- J-.

At the lower end of the gripper am 3! r Fig; '15? is a fra mentary detaillof arts g g secured'apresser fiuger 50 provided with t shownfm Fig.14;

is normally enga 60 to which a picker finger 62 is pivoted by Y a pin 64 as clearly shown in Figs. 17 to 24. A spring 65 surrounds the lower end of each shaft 58 and tends to press the picker finger 62 toward the presser finger 50. The shaft 58 carries a;. fin 66 near its upper end which ed by the end 68- of a lever 70 loosely pivote on the cross shaft 44. The

lever 7 0 is provided with a perforated extension 72 through which passes a rod 74.. The

rod 74 for each row of grippers is supported. at its ends in arms 76 and '18 which are I 'pinned'or otherwise secured to the shafts ,44. The several arms 76 (Fig. 15) at one end of the carriage are connected to one another by a link 80 so that all of the arms 76 83 on its" end guides are each ada of adwstment by means of a the rods the trays H of the magazine and 78 of the carriage will move in unison.

One of the shafts 44, namely the one next to the lower end of the carriage as shown in Fig. 15, carries a. lever 82 having a roller adapted to be liftedby a bar 84 which is actuated by mechanism hereinafter described. The guides 48 in which the gripper arms 46 are mounted, are adjustable laterally along the rods 42 and 44 and said ted to be held in a desired position clamp screw86 mounted in a hub 49 formed on said guide 48. The guide 48. carries an angle plate 88 overlapping the lever so that as the guide 48' is adjusted laterally on 44 the lever 70 will be moved along -with it,

I provided at its upper end with a perforation permitting it to slide'freely along the cross rod74. j

The above described gripper mechanism is capable of lifting the topmost sheet from a pile of pattern pieces 'or sheets carried on A. The several. trays H of frame 90, Fig. .1, which'is periodically. lift ed by mechanism as to bring the multiplicity of piles of patternsheets into engagementrwith the grip" ers.

The frame 90 as showninFig. 16 carries one or. more dowel pins 91 which enter suitable holesformed in the lowermost tray so as to position it correctly thereon. Likewise the trays are each provided with one or more dowel pins 93' which enter suitable holes in of the trays Hywiththe' exception of the lowermost one, carries aside'cleatl 95 ar-;

ranged to hold the-several trays in proper: nested position as' shown' in =Ei'g..l6.:-. The frame-9O when in its lowered position, rests it being remembered that said lever is loosely mounted on the shaft 44 and is .tray. r the magazine are carried by a picking a hereinafter described so 'th b to pucker .tween the fingers.

to position each tray the carriage on a pair of fixed cross bars 97, 99, Fig. 14, so as to relieve the operating mechanism of the Weight of the frame, the several'trays H carried thereby and the sheets supported in said trays.

vWhen the trays are lifted the-gripper fingers are separated, as indicated in Fig. 21,

and the lifting of the tray causes the picker finger 62 to rock on its pivot 64 against the action of a light spring 61, Figs. 18 to 24.

Further lifting of the trays causes the topmost sheet of the pile to engage the presser.

finger 50 and lift the gripper arm 46 bodily a short distance as indicated between the different elevations of the tray H show'n in Figs. 23 and 24. This action causes the finger 50 to exert considerable pressure due to the weight of arm 46 on the ile of sheets and prevents the topmost sheet rom slipping when the picker finger 62 is rocked on the axis of the shaft 58. After the trays H have been lifted to. their high position, the shaft- 58 is rocked by the spring 65 due to the fact that the lever 70 has been moved from the full line position shown in Fig. 20 to the dotted line position, by the rod 74.- The an gular movement of the picker finger 62 causes it to pucker the sheet as shown at P in Figs. 22 and 24. The spring 65 exerts sufficient force to securely hold the sheet as the carriage C moves down its inclined track.

In the machine shown the carriage is provided with eight rows of shafts 42- and 44 and eight trays H 1:: supporting piles of pattern sheets,'each row of shafts carrying one or more grippers according to the width and number of sheets carried by the trays. Small pattern pieces or sheets like those of a ocket or collar, for example, will require on y one gripper, while wider sheets such as a skirt front or side panel may require two or more grippers. pers carried by eachrow of shafts 42 and 44 will be governed according to the size of sheets and the number of piles in each he action of the'fingers 50 and.62 in sheet from-a pile is analogous to the operation of picking a sheet'by hand by first pressing the thumb on the top of the pile, 'to exert a slight pressure onthe top sheet and drawing the forefinger toward the .76 and 78 which support the several rods The number of gripthe sheet to grasp it bei 74, includes the inclined bar-84 which bar is provided with cam'slots 92 and 94.. Pins 96 and 98:p'rojectthrough said slots, the pin 96 being secured to the upright. 18. andthe pin 98being secured%to.the*frame;10.. When C is in its upper; position as 1 shown in Fig.1, the 106.384. is also in its. u

per position with the pins 9fi ases -112 is so designed that when the carriage 1s in its up ing the lower ends of the arm 82 in a position shown m-Fig. 3 so as to hold the gripper a link 104 to an arm 106 pivoted"at 108 carried to an operativibposition by ment of the carriage the slots and holding I fingers and 62in the open 'position illustrated in Fig. 21. The bar 84 is held in such raised position by means of an arm carried on a shaft 102. This shaft carries a lever 103 connected with carrying a roller arranged to co-aet with a cam 112 mounted on a shaft 114. The cam er position it holds the grippers ope-n unti the trays move up, whereupon'the grippers are closed. The grippers remain closed for approximately a half revolution 1 of the cam at which time the sheetshave been the movewhereuponthe cam causes an opening movement ofzthe grippers through the connections 103' to 110' w ieh results in releasing theI'sheets. from the grip carrying a clutch 126 and a'gear 128 116 meshing'with a worm 118 carried by the act with a roller 142 pers. a I

The shaft 114 also carries a worm gear main drive shaft 120. This shaft is driven from abelt pul1ey 122 on a jack shaft 124 which gear meshes with a'gear carried on @ashaft 120. The pulley 122 is driven by a belt connected to a motor or any other suitable source of power. When the clutch 126;-is

shifted to operative position to'start the ma-' vchine the shaft '120 rotates continuously to drive the various mechanisms herein set forth, but means are provided whereby. certain supplemental 1 drive mechanisms can intermittently drive various elements hereinafter more fully described.

At the left end of Fig. 1 is shown a worm gear 134 meshing with a wormwheel136. on a shaft 138 journalled in the frames 10 and 14. This shaft carries a number of camsincluding the one shown in dotted lines at 140 in Fig. 14. This cam is adapted to cocarriedby a" yoke 144 having extensions which straddle the shaft 138,'-sa id yoke being connected withan arm shaft also carries arms 152 and 154.

' ried on a shaft 146 carried on a rock shaft 148. This rock bell cranks 150 having Each arm 154 is connected by a link 156 with a bell crank 158 car- ,160. Thebell cranks 150 and 158 are'connected by vertical links 162 and 164- with the frame 90 which supports the several trays H of '-the magazine. Through these connections it will be seen that rotation of the shaft 138 will periodically lift the frame 90 so as to bring the to most. sheet in' each pile into co-action with the fingers of -the gri pers above described. There-are two lin s 162 and two links .164. located in alignment with each other so as fto-supp'ort themagazine at four points, and

themotion transmitting mechan sm is so proportioned that the trays move into engagement with compact package.

tucker blade 188 to operate while upwardly in a horizontal words a arallel motion is zine by supporting frame 90 for-the ma zine car ries front and rear rollers 166- an 168 which en a e the uprights 18 and 16 respectively and slmilar rollers 170 and 172 which engage the uprights 22 and 20. ,These rollers serve to guide the magazine in its upward movement sothat the piles of sheets carried by the trays H are moved vertically inga straight line to bring. the sheets into proper position. other g iven tothe maga i tie movement of t e cam140. The.

position for engagement with the fingers of I the gri pers B.

- As a ve stated 'thecarriage C is provided w1th grippers adapted to sheet from the several tra s pick the topmost simultaneously. After this has been done t e carriage moves t forward alon the I inclined tracks carrying the sheets wit 1 it to an operative station, the;

sheets overlappingone another as.

understood.

' The carriage is caused as dwell at operatlve station for a period-of time long:

enough to permit a. tucker blade 18 8 to move ward by the gripper into engagement with a clamp carr ed byasheet wrapping arbor D wh ch as dlSClOSGd'lIl my above identified copending application is arranged to be peri-- asuflicient number odically rotated through downward and insert the sheets carried forof revolutions to. wind the several sheets therearound so as to wrap them into an elon- I a gated pack; 7 v

Theelongated ferred from the arbor D engagement with' a "pair or; co-aetingl which crease the folds and feed t e pack mechanism. as disclosed in my above application, wraps the elon T and latter'me'chanism is "not shown and described in detail herein as it is 'fully dis' the arbor D. The carriage must dwell for a short time in this position topermit-the the carriage and the arbor D are 'at rest. vanta'geousto lock 'both the carriage and the arbor against movement at difierent times.

The means for intermittently moving, the

It is adcarriage and locking it will now'he described with reference particularlyftoj' FigsJ 3, 4, 5;

Referring first to Figs. 3 and 6 a 224 carries sprockets 226 near its ends adja cent the inclined tracks which guide the guide rails 24, 26, 28 and 30. The shaft 224 which carries the sprockets 226 also carries .on one end a sprocket 229 which is driven by a chain 225, Fig. 3 which passes. over a sprocket 227 carried on a shaft 492 driven by bevel gears 494 and 496 from shaft 120.

Each chain 228 carries a driving lug 232 which is adapted to engage a respective dog 234'pivoted at 236v on the outer sides of the plates 32 and 34 respectively. The dogs are provided at their upper and lower ends respectively with extensions 238 and 240 which are alternately swung into the path of the lugs 232 carried by the respective chains 228. Impositive locks consisting of spring-pressed balls 242 and 244 are provided to lock the dogs in their different operative positions. Fixed cams 246 are secured to the intermediate portions of the rails 24 and 28 as shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 11. Similar cams 248 are secured near the lower ends of the rails 26 and 30. As hereinafter described these cams are arranged to move the dogs 234 into and out of position at the proper times so as to cause the carriage to move downwardly and carry the sheets to be folded to an operative station and permit the carriage to dwell fora short interval while the tucker blade, 188 above referred to, in-

sorts the sheets into engagement with the clamp of the arbor D. The dogs are tripped out of engagementwith the chain durlng this interval and the chain rotates freely without moving the carriage". After this interval the dogs are swung into position to be engaged by the lug 232 so that the chain will move the carriage back to the position shownin -Fig. 1 Where the grippers are in position to again engage the sheets when the magazine carrymg the trays H is elevated. Iii-this position the dogs 234 are again tripped out of engagement with the chain to permit the carriage to remain stationary although the chain is still moving.

This operation isillustrated in Figs. 3 to 9. The chain is constantly driven in the direction of the arrowm. Starting with the position of the carriage shown in Figs. 3 and 6, the upper end 238 of the .dog has been moved by the inclined surface 247 of the cam 246 to throw the dog 234 out of the path of .the chain lug 232 asjshown clearly in Fig.

11 This action will throw. the end 240' of said dog under the lower run of the chain in 1 position to be struck by thechain lug 232 when it travels around the sprocket 230.

The lower run of the chain, of course, travels the opposite direction t the upper run as indicated by the arrow n in Fig. 7, and when the chain lug 232 comes into contact with the lower end of the dog it will engage the extension240 and thereby move the carr'iage downward along its inclined guide rails. This downward motion will continue until such time that the said extension 240 of the dog engages the inclined surface 249 of the cam 248. Continued motion of the chain will cause the dog to be rocked on its pivot 236 to the position indicated in Fig. 13. In this position the opposite end of the dog is set to be engaged by the chain lugafter it has traveled around the sprocket 226. From the time thatthe cam 248 disengages the dog until the time that the chain lug travels around to strike the extension 238, the carriage will dwell or remain stationary in its lower position thus allowing suflicient time to permit the tucker blade above referred to to insert the sheet into engagement with the clamp on the arbor D, and also permit said tucker blade to be withdrawn by the arm 198 as above described.

After this action has taken place the carriage will travel upward in the direction of the arrow m until the cam 246 again trips the dog. This completes the cycle of the carriage movements and leaves it at rest for a short interval during which the frame and trays H are again elevated and the above described cycle is then repeated.

To insure accuracy of the movements of the carriage and to prevent overrunning of the chain, a carriage locking device is provided, including hooks 250 mounted on a rock shaft 252 and adapted to engage stops 254 secured to theside plates 32 and 34 of the carriage. When the carriage reaches its lowermost position, as indicated in Fig. 4,-

the hook 250 falls into engagement with the stop 254 and a pawl 256 also carried on the shaft 252 drops in front of the dog 234. By these means it will be seen that it is impossible to move the carriage in either direction during the time the chain is rotating freely.

When it is time to again move the carriage to its upper position, the chain dog traveled aroundto the position ilu'strated in Fig. 5 where it engages the pawl 256 and lifts it, thus rocking the shaft 252 and dis' engaging the hook 250from the stop 254. This permits the chain to move the carriage in the direction of the arrow m back to the starting position.- Gonnected to the upper 232 has end of the carriage'is a pair'of cables, one I weight also serves to assist the chain in moving the carriage upward as will be undersheets are generally made of thin flimsy stood. v Operation-All the pattern sheets required to form a number of complete'patterns of the same size and style are placed in separate piles or stacks. For example, ifpatterns for a waist, say size 36 are to be folded, all the waist fronts are placed In one pile, the backs in another pile, sleeves in the third pile, collars in the fourth pile, cuffs in another pile, and so on. If the pattern is for a dress or the like, the skirt front,

a'nels, pockets and so forth are arranged in respective piles. v

Each pile therefore constitutes a multiplicity of sheets which are du licates of one another. The size, that is, .t e length and width of the sheets in the several iles are quite different and the shapes of said sheets in the different piles are quite different. This lack of uniformity of size and shape of the sheets in the different piles presents problems not usually encountered in paper folding machines such as used in connection for example with newspaper presses, paper bag machinery and the like. The pattern paper such as tissue paper and the handling of this material presents problems in handling, not usually encountered in other folding machines. I The feeding device herein described provides means for solving the problem of tpicking' the topmost sheets from each 0 the several piles. The wrapping arbor D provides means for wrapping sheets of differ- 7 cut sizes in a single long narrow pack and sm-.ller pattern pieces.

the pack wrapping arbor not shown is ro vided for folding this pack into a s ort com act ackage.

T e 'pi es of sheets above referred to are placed in trays H. Some of the trays may contain only one pile of sheets when the patand other trays iles of sheets of fter the several ed in the several trays,

tern piece. is a large one may contain two or more piles have been arran said trays are stacke one upon the other as shown in Figs. 14 and16. -As best shown in Fig. 14, the forwardedges of the trays are offset from one another so as to leave the to of the iles in each'tray exposed at one en Suitab e locating pins, 93 are carried on the underside of each tray and adapted to correctl position each tray with respect to its neig bor. The lowermost trayrests on the frame 90 which is provided with suitable locating pins 91 adapted to position the tray on said frame. When the several trays con-- stituting the magazine have been placed-in position, the clutch 126 is shifted to operatively connect the main shaft 120 with the driving motor. Through the connections previously described the shafts 148 and 160 are rocked, which action lifts the frame 90" and trays carried thereby so as to cause the topmost sheet in each of the several piles to be engaged by the fingers of the grip ers B, the fin ers at this time being open. The

arm 100 1s now rocked to the right from the position shown in Fig. 3 thus permitting the bar .84 to slide downward on its pins 96 and 98. Due to the inclination ofslots 92 and 94 the bar travels away from the earriage C; that is to-say, its perpendicular distance from the-carriage is increased. The roller 83 carriedby arm 82 which is pivoted on one of the carriage cross shafts 44 follows the bar 84 and hence rocks said cross shaft. This rocking movement is communicat'ed to all of. the other cross shafts 44 through the arms 76 and connectin rod 80, said rocking movement permits afi of the fingers 62 to close and grip the topmost sheet. Frame carrying the trays H, is then lowered and the'carriage moves downward under the influence of chains 228 and thedriving lug 232 carried thereby. When tucker blade 188 is aligned with the open clamp 190 of said arbor. On the downward movement of the carriage, the cross bar 194,

which is operatively connected with the tucker blade, entered the forked end 196 of the arm 198. This arm is now rocked by the cam 216 through arm 208, link 206-and arm 204, carried, by shaft 200 'to which the forked arm 198 is secured. This action inserts the multiplicity of pattern sheets into ppgagement with the'clamp 190 of the arbor The arbor is of course stationary during the time the sheets are inserted into engagement therewith and suitable locking means, forming no part of the present invention,

(disclosed and claimed in my original application) comes'into play to prevent move ment of said arbor during the insertion of the sheets. After the tucker blade 188 is.

lifted the arbor lock is released and the car- I riage returns toits u per position, as illustrated in Fig. 1. which restores it to the starting point ready to repeat the feeding of another group of sheets when the trays H are again lifted to bring the various piles of pattern pieces carried thereby into operative engagement with the fingers of the sheet grippers.

\Vhile I have described with great particularity the. specific embodiment of the' invention herein disclosed, and have referred to the feeding and sheet separating mechanism for use in combination withfcertain wrapping mechanism, it is not to be construed that I am limited thereto as the apparatus may be used in various combinations and modifications andmearrangement of parts may-be made without departing from the spirit and S00 e of the invention as defined 1n the a'ppen ed claims.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A sheet feeder including a carriage which supports a multiplicity of mechanifically actuatedtsheet grippers, each includseparate one sheet from the top ing a member [adapted when moved to of a pile, means for simultaneously engagin a multiplicity of piles of sheets with sai grippers and means for, intermittently moving said 7 carriage.

2. A sheet feeder including a carriage which supports a multiplicity of mechani cally actuated sheet grippers, a plurality of trays each adapted to support one or more piles of sheets, means for causing a relative movement between the carriage and said trays to move the grippers against the fiat surface of the topmost sheet or sheets in each tra ,means for actuating said grippers so t at they will pick the topmost sheet from each of said piles, and means for moving said carriage to carry said sheets to an operative station.

3. A sheet feeder including a multiplicity Y of grippers mounted on a movable carriage ranged to be moved toward said member to (pucker and grip said sheet between them, an

' from the to in separate rows, a plurality of trays each adapted to support one or more piles of sheets in position to be engaged from above by the grippers in one of said rows, and

7, means for elevating said trays to engage the fiat surface of topmost sheet in each pile with the corresponding grip er or grippers, and means for intermittent y moving said carriage,

4. A gripper for picking a flimsy sheet from a pile comprising a member arranged ress a ainst the flat surface of a sheet, an a pic er finger supported by and armeans for moving said member and said finger bodily to transfer the sheet from one" point to another. 1 v

5. A gripper for picking a single sheet of a pile comprising a slidebl "mounte apt'ed to engage the top of the pile an pivoted finger movable toward said presser finger and adapted to puclrer the topmost 00 i -thereon a plurality of rows 0 adapted to engage the fiat surface of sheets,

sheet in said pile and hold the puckered portion between said fingers.

6. A- sheetfeeder including an-in'ter mittentl-y movable carriage havln mounted grippers a plurality of trays each adapted to support one or more piles of sheets of varying size and shapes and means for adjusting said arm having a presser finger a [12. In a sheet feeding mechanism,

revaaes grippers laterally on said carriage to posi,

8. A sheet feeder including a movable car- .riage having a plurality of supporting shafts, guides carried by said shafts, gripper arms movable in said guides, presser fingers secured to said arms, means tending to move said (picker fingers toward said presser fingers an lease the sheets held between the fin ers.

9. A sheet feeder including a mova le carriage having a plurality of gripper supmeans for moving said picker fingers away from thepresser fingers to re-- ports, guides carried by said supports, means Y for securi'n er arms movable in said guides and carrying fingers adapted to pucker a tissue paper sheet, in, combination with trays for supporting said sheets and means for lifting said trays to brin the sheet into position to be engaged by said fingers.

10. In a sheet feeding mechanism gripper said guides in different positions of ad ustment on said supports, grip-:

guides, gripper arms slidable vertically in said guides, a presser finger secured rigidly thereto and a picker finger movable relatively thereto, means tending to press the picker finger toward the presser finger and means for moving the from the presser finger.

11. In a sheet feeding mechanism gripper guides, ipper arms slidable vertically in said gui es, a presser finger secured rigidly thereto and a picker finger movable relapicker finger away tively thereto, means tending topress the picker finger toward the presser finger and means for moving the pickerv fin er away from the presser finger, a tray a apted to support a; pile of sheets and means for lift'm sai tray to engage the topmost sheet wi said gripper fingers.

adapted to support a pile of sheets,fa gripper arm, means for bodily moving said gripper arm relatively to said tray, and means for guidin said gripper arm for vertical movement, fingers carried by said arm, means for lifting said tray so that the pile of sheets moves the gripper arm vertically in its guide a tray' and means for moving one of said fingers toward the other to pucker and grip the topmost sheet in said pile.

13. In a sheet feeding mechanism, aplumeans for simultaneously moving said griprality of superposed horizontal trays each adapted to support one or more piles ofsheets, the forwardedges of each tray being ofi'set with respect to the forward edge of the next underlying tray to expose the top of each pile of sheets, a'carriage movable in an inclined plane and carrying a plurality of rows of grippers, the gri pers in each row being arranged to pick a s eet or sheets from the pile or piles in one of said trays.

14. In a sheet feeding mechanism, a carriage supporting a plurality of grippers each having a presser finger and a. picker finger, trays each supporting a pile or iles of sheets, means for lifting and 'lowerin said trays, means for moving the picker ngers to grip the sheets when the trays are lifted, means for moving the carriage when the trays are lowered and means for moving said picker fingers to release the sheets after the carriage has moved forward. 15. In a foldin machine, a sheet feeder including a'plurality of trays each of which supports the sheets to be folded, a plurality of rippers, means engaging only the top sur aces of the sheets with the grippers and Q pers to transfer the sheets to a predetermined position.

16. In a folding machine a plurality of superposed trays each adapted to hold a plurality of. sheets and mechanically actuated grippers for simultaneously lifting at least one sheet from each tray and simultaneously feeding the superposed sheets to a predetermined station. 17. A folding machine including a plurality of trays each adapted to support, one

or more piles of pattern sheets, and means for simultaneously gripping one sheet in each pile at a point intermediate its ends and moving it to an operative station locking the latter when it is atrest. r

18. A folding machine including a magazine for holding a multiplicity of pattern sheets, comprising a plurality of superposed adapted to support -'one or more piles iof to said trays, sheet rippersmarried by said carriage, aconstant y moving member and 58 character described, a plurality of trays each/y: I

sheets, a carriage 'movable in juxtaposition means for periodical y engaging the car-' riage witha member 2Q,/In a sheet 'feedingrmechanism of'the' character described, a plurality of trays each adapted to hold a plurality of sheets, a car isengaging it s from said riage .havin grippers for picking the top-.

most sheet rom each tray, means for periodically lifting the trays to engage the sheets with the grippers, and meansfor periodically moving the carriage. k

21; In a sheet feeding mechanism of the character described, a plurality of trays each adapted to holda plurality of sheets,a car-' riage having grippers for pickin the top-r most sheet from each tray, means or period-' ically lifting the trays to engage the sheets wlth the grippers, means for intermittently moving the carriage, and means for securely In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

, snuou GOOPER, 

